1849 The Cadbury brothers begin selling ‘chocolates for eating’ – in Birmingham, of all places.

1851 The Americans first get a taste for fattening foods at Prince Albert’s Exposition, where US delegates tucked into bonbons, chocolate creams, and boiled sweets. It all went downhill from here.

1930 White chocolate is first produced by Nestlé.

2011 People still like chocolate. A lot. Between 2010 and 2011, 3.87 million tonnes of cocoa grind is expected to be produced. Fears of a world chocolate shortage have been fuelled by civil war in the Ivory Coast (the world’s biggest exporter of cocoa) and global warming. If ever there was a reason for a harmonious and sustainable society, it’s this.